Thanks to everyone who attended the session last week. Here are the responses to the questions.
Q: Are Pie Charts Bad?
A: No, they are not bad - but they have limited use cases. They don’t work with negatives. They are not recommended for more than 5 segments. They are not good for comparisons (multiple pie charts) as humans struggle to compare round areas accurately.
Q: Hi Neale. Are there any 'secrets' to creating successfully 'multiple data charts' from pivot tables without re-creating data tables?
A: No secret, it is not possible to have multiple charts based on a PivotTable. It is a one for one relationship – One PivotTable = One chart.
Q: How did the legend come up all automatically as desired?
Changing the size and shape of the legend causes it to adjust its layout. With some trial and error, you learn how to re-size to get the layout you want.
Q: how can we have different color on the column chart for positive and negative figure?
A: You have to create a separate data series for positives and negatives. Then use a couple of hacks to display them correctly. I may write a blog post demonstrating the technique.
Q: Please refresh my memory, at the start, you mentioned F5 key function. I missed out what it was about?
A: Pressing the F5 function key and then pressing Enter will take you back after following a hyperlink.
Q: Would copilot help in creating useful charts? How can we utilise it with data visualisation?
A: I haven’t used co-pilot much but I expect if you select a data set and ask it - it could suggest the correct chart types. The Recommended Chart option (insert ribbon) does make worthwhile recommendations too.
Q: with Multiple charts, how do I display also sub-headlines such as internet/retail/wholesale? rather than just headlines?
A: If you select a range that has the heading / sub heading it will include those in the chart.
Q: can month to date data and year to data be in the same chart?
A: Yes, you can use a second axis on the right for the YTD values.
Q: What's the diff between the bar and col charts?
A: Column charts (vertical) and Bar charts (horizontal) are basically the same but the bar chart is better to display values in the bar chart itself and is better for longer category names.
Q: Do you know if AI is in the process of being implemented into excel to complement data Visualisation tools?
A: I imagine best practice data visualisation will be part of AI implementation in Excel and other AI platforms.
Q: What number did the original bar charts start with, if not 0?
A: This related to the Sparkline bar charts. I don’t know - there is some sort of default value it calculates.
Q: How come the Y-Axis does not align with the table? NESW vs WSEN
A: Bar charts default to reversing the order North, South, East + West. There is an option in the Axis settings to reverse the order.
Q: How can I access the previous recordings and files?
A: The recordings are on this platform in the Library. At the top of the screen click Browse. Select Library Entries. Then click Webinar Recordings Available. Then click Show All.
Q: Can you explain box whisker charts
A: They are a specialised chart with limited applications – I may write a blog post explaining them.